On her way home from the hospital she stopped by the 24 hour Wal-Mart Supercenter for cat food, milk, Diet Pepsi, and a few other things. She was drawn to the music department by her curiosity about Brent and his group, Foul. She had heard of Foul before, even knew a couple of their recent songs but never paid too much attention to them. She flipped through the 'Fs' and finally found a CD. It wasn't the new one, it was one called "Sunstroke." She turned it over to look at the picture on the back. Weird, she thought as a slight shiver ran through her, there they all were. She threw the CD in the cart, finished shopping, checked out and left. Rory was waiting for her as she let herself into the house. She knelt down, rubbed his soft fur, and scratched his chin and ears. He was her best friend. Except Terri, that was. Terri was her high school friend, and, even though many years had passed since graduation they remained close. Rory was rolling excitedly on his back, getting up, rubbing up against Andrea's legs, drooling the whole time. Andrea got up and brushed all the cat hair from her hands. She put away her groceries and changed into her pajamas. She was tired but her mind was alive with thoughts of the day. She wondered how Brent was doing? She told MaryAnn that he was getting worse and MaryAnn shrugged.

"You might have to page Dr. Georgenson if his fever goes any higher." Andrea warned. MaryAnn waved her away.

"Go home Annie. I can take care of it." But when Andrea left she was hesitant. She now looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Why? She though to herself. Why was so so concerned about this patient? What made him different than the other patient's on the floor? He certainly was the easiest to take care of. The other patient's were post-surgical and some of them had colostomy bags or catheters. Some were even hooked up the blood transfusion machines. She spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth. She still stared at herself as if doing this would provide the answers to her questions. Was it because he was a handsome rock star? She tried not to grin but a smile spread across her face without her permission. Maybe so, she turned and crawled into her bed, between the cool sheets. But she wouldn't let him dazzle her with his phony charm. She would resist any attempts he may make at coming on to her. Not only didn't she need a relationship right now, she didn't need one with someone so fake. She turned off the light and closed her eyes. She was finally living her life for her self and no one would change that!

She drifted off finally only to wake at 3:30. She had a gnawing feeling that Brent was worse. She grabbed the phone and dialed the nurse's station. Kelly picked it up on the second ring. "Surgical, this is Kelly." She said.

"Kelly, this is Annie." She said groggily.

"Oh, hey Annie. What are you doing up at this un-Godly hour?" She could hear Kelly shuffling through a chart.

"How's our rock star patient?" Kelly was quiet a moment.

"Who's that?" She asked. Andrea sighed.

"The guy in room 5321. The one with the abscessed throat?"

"Ohhhh, that guy!" Kelly said. "He's not sleeping real well. MaryAnn is in there now with something to help him sleep."

"Is he breathing okay?"

"I don't know. I'll have MaryAnn check for you. Anything else?" Andrea shook her head.

"No, I guess not. I just wanted to check on him. See how he was doing."

"Okay, see ya tomorrow night." Andrea told Kelly she could call her if anything came up, hung up and lay there for another half hour before falling back to sleep.

The next morning when Andrea went running she took her CD player and stuffed the Sunstroke CD into it that she'd purchased last night. She did her warm-up and then took off. The player's volume was up way too high and at the first strains of the first song, she about had a heart attack. It was a bit heavier than what she was used to but made herself listen to the whole thing as she ran. It was actually good music to jog to, it was fast and rocking. She decided she didn't much care for Brent's voice and secretly chastised him for causing his voice box so much unnecessary stress with all that screaming he did. She would speak to him about it sooner or later! After her exercise, she showered and headed up to the hospital a little early. When she arrived she noticed quite a few teenage girls in the lobby. There were more than the usual amount of security guards around and they weren't letting anyone without a valid reason to be there anywhere near the elevators. She sighed knowing it was probably because of Brent.

When she arrived on the floor she was once again greeted by Karen.

"I'm glad you're here early." Karen said to her.

"Why is that?" Andrea asked, checking the charts of her patients she would be taking care of that day.

"Your rock star keeps asking for you." Andrea smiled and felt butterflies becoming quite active in her belly.

"Is that so? Well, how is he doing this afternoon?" Andrea reached for his chart.

"His temp keeps spiking, I think he feels worse today." Karen grabbed her purse from a drawer and pulled out her keys.

"I knew it!" Andrea said. "Has the doctor been up to see him yet?" Karen shook her head.

"No, he called and said he had a heavy case load this afternoon and would be up around 6." Andrea frowned and clicked her tongue. What the hell was wrong with that doctor? Brent was going to need that boil lanced today for sure. She decided she wasn't going to play around. After she checked on Brent she would page him and urge him to see Brent sooner. Karen made to leave. "See you tomorrow!" She said and left for the elevator. Andrea grabbed Brent's chart and went to his room. As she entered and made her way to the side of the bed with the I.V. bag she could tell how much worse he felt today. He was pale, with dark purple bags under his tired, sunken eyes. He was barely breathing but his eyes sparkled as he saw Andrea approach his bedside. She never even noticed Curt and Kelvin sitting by the window until one of them cleared his throat and she turned around suddenly.

"You scared me!" She said annoyed.

"Sorry about that." Kelvin said getting up and coming over to her by Brent's side. "He doesn't look so good, does he?" Kelvin looked down at Brent and Brent frowned up at Kelvin.

"He looks sick. Let me check some things ..." She busied herself checking his vitals and his I.V. bag. His temp was 103 and his skin was very warm. She listened to closely to his breathing. It was shallow but labored. His throat was closing up, she was sure of it. He watched her carefully with his big, blue eyes wishing he could say something, anything without feeling like dying. He had dreamt of her several times last night, had thought she was there while he was drifting in and out of consciousness. He couldn't wait for her to come in this afternoon. She touched his cheeks, they were hot but her hands were cool and soft. He put his hands up and held hers onto his face for a moment. She smiled at him then pulled her hands away, made some notes on the computer screen and bent over him again.

"I am going to page the doctor for you, okay?" She searched his eyes for understanding. He nodded. "I'll be back." And she left.

Curt stood up and went over to where Kelvin was standing.

"What the fuck, she ignores us like we aren't even here!" Kelvin winked at Brent.

"He's just jealous." Kelvin said.

"Damn straight." Curt said and they both laughed. Brent didn't laugh, he couldn't laugh. He felt like he was in hell. Flames were licking at his throat and head. He just wanted someone to help him. Thank God his angel arrived. She would do something. Even being near her made him feel a little better.

Andrea went back to the nurse's station and paged Dr. Georgenson. She waited twenty minutes before the call came. Dr. Georgenson wasn't available but his associate, Dr. Matana would be there shortly. She went back in by Brent. He lay with his eyes closed while Curt stood looking out the window and Kelvin watched T.V. Brent smelled her before he saw her. She had on the sweetest perfume. It was a flowery scent and as he drifted in and out of consciousness again he imagined himself walking through a garden full of roses. Some were yellow, some pink, all wildly fragrant. He saw Andrea walking away from him and reached for her. He tried to call for her but no sound would come out of his mouth -- and then the pain! He opened his eyes and looked around. Tears pooled in the corners of his eyes. He looked over to see Andrea doing something at the head of his bed. His breath came in short bursts. She leaned over the side of the bed and whispered to him, "The doctor is on his way. Dr. Matana will help you Brent, he's a great guy. And," she smiled at him, "he looks a little like Davy Jones from the Monkees." He tried to smile but moving his face hurt too much. She touched his head, hot and clammy. She went into the bathroom, wet the washcloth, came back to him and wiped his face and forehead gently. She went to Curt and Kelvin and explained the situation to them. They paced nervously until the Dr. burst in the door to examine Brent. Larry Matana agreed with Andrea, the abscess needed to be lanced. Andrea and two other nurses brought a cart full of surgical instruments into the room and Andrea prepped Brent. She lifted his head gently and smoothed a 'chuck' down under his head. It was blue plastic on one side and absorbent material on the other. She gently explained to him what Dr. Matana was going to do and Brent's eyes opened wide with panic. "No," she assured him, "don't worry. He's going to numb it first. But it has to be done. You will feel a lot better in just a few hours after this, I promise." He watcher her face as she spoke to him. Her deep, ocean blue eyes, plump, pink lips, little pointed, up-turned nose, the way her straight, blonde hair framed the whole thing. He relaxed some, he trusted her.

Kelvin and Curt made a hasty retreat before the surgery began. They had weak stomachs, they both admitted. Then Dr. Matana was ready. Andrea turned on a portable suction machine with a long, thin hose. Wearing rubber gloves and a plastic mask, Dr. Matana instructed Brent to open wide and then gently stuck a needle into the roof of his mouth. After a moment to let the Lidocaine take effect, the doctor poked a scalpel into the lump inside Brent's throat. Andrea began to suction the blood and pus from his mouth but some of it was running down the back of his throat, gagging him. She suctioned the best she could. Dr. Matana squeezed as much of the offending infection out of the wound and then stood back. Andrea had Brent sitting up so he wouldn't choke on the liquid running down his throat. He looked like was going to be sick so she quickly placed an emesis basin in his lap. She had one hand holding his shoulder and the other on his back while he wretched and tried to spit blood out of his mouth. Andrea wiped his lips with a damp washcloth. She helped him lay back on the bed and stood nearby while Dr. Matana examined the wound.

"Good," Dr. Matana said. "It's much smaller and you should be feeling better in a little while. Take it easy now. If you need anything Annie will be here to help you." He then left the room. Annie busied herself cleaning up the instruments and throwing away the chucks. She left the basin nearby knowing he would need it again. She met Dr. Matana in the hallway and he instructed her to make sure the antibiotics were flowing well into his veins and gave him more orders for pain meds. She got a few more clean washcloths, wet them in the sink, and went back to him. He lay there with his eyes closed. He was quite pale now. She wiped his face slowly with the wet, cool cloths. He opened his eyes and watched her.

"Feeling okay?" She asked. He shrugged. That was a 'no' for sure. She sat down next to him and pushed his hair back from his forehead. "You will start to feel better shortly. Trust me, I've seen this before and once the damn thing is opened and draining you will feel better. You'll probably even be talking later on." She smiled at him. "Oh, God help me once you can talk!" He mentally agreed with her but just smiled weakly. She got up, left the room, and came back a few minutes later with another hypodermic needle. She held it up to him. "Something for the nerves." She said. He started to roll over but she stopped him with her hand. She went over to the I.V. site and injected the medication into the stopper that was plugged into his hand. "This way it will work a lot faster." He patted the bed next to him. She sighed and rolled her eyes but sat next to him again. He was just a big baby, she thought. Most men were. Not one of them stood up to pain and suffering tall and proud! Especially when it came to their groin area. He could be lucky the abscess wasn't there or she'd be pulling him off the ceiling! Moments later Brent could feel the effects of the Xanax shot she'd given him. A warm, peaceful feeling came over him. He reached out and touched her hand, then slid his hand inside hers. She felt tingles run up her arm. He pulled her backwards so she was leaning back against the bed and then snuggled against her. She felt very weird about this, especially thinking someone may come into the room, but let him anyway. It wasn't too long before he was asleep. She disengaged herself from him and left the room quietly. She found Curt and Kelvin in the hallway. They rushed up to her.

"How's he doing?" Curt asked. She nodded.

"He's doing well. He's sleeping now. Why don't you guys go get something to eat and by the time you get back he should be a little more animated. There's a great little restaurant not far from here if you like Italian food ..." And she directed them to a restaurant called Rosebud. Andrea busied herself with her other patients but went back about a half hour later to check on Brent. He was still sleeping peacefully. She stood by the side of the bed and watched him. He was quite handsome. He must be Italian, she thought. Italian men had such strong facial features. He had a well shaped face and was tan despite how pale he'd been lately. His mouth was full and his lips tinged red. She wondered what it would be like to kiss them and had the urge to do so. She noticed his long, black lashes touching the bottoms of his eyelids. Why was it men had long, black lashes and women didn't? Is this fair? She reached down and smoothed back the blonde hair from his forehead and sighed. "Sick, little rock star", she whispered. "You'll be feeling better soon. Then you'll be gone from my life and I'll be hard-pressed to find something else to fill that void." She felt kind of sad. She watched him a few more minutes then left.

When Curt and Kelvin returned they found Brent sitting up in bed, the tray table pulled in front of him and a cup of water with a straw in front of him.

"Hey, man! You drinking some vodka?" Kelvin asked.

"Water. A little, tiny bit." Brent whispered. "It tastes like heaven!" Curt chuckled.

"How would you know what heaven tastes like, man, you ain't never been that close to it!" Brent made a face at Curt and flipped him off.

"Like you would know." Brent whispered. He felt much better right now than he had felt in the last week. It was wonderful to be able to express himself again without searing pain. He would most certainly thank Dr. Matana! He picked up the cup and sipped slowly from the straw. Just feeling the cool water in his mouth was pleasantly refreshing. He swallowed it slow. It still stung a bit now that the Lidocaine was wearing off but he got the liquid down and that was what was important. He was on the road to becoming himself again!

His two friends left not too long after that and Brent was alone with his nurse. She came into the room and he smiled at her.

"Oh, feeling better are we?" He nodded.

"Much." He whispered. She frowned at him.

"Try not to talk too much yet today. Give that wound time to heal."

"It feels better." He whispered. "I want to talk." She shrugged at him.

"Fine, if you want to run the risk of ruining your voice or changing the sound of it then talk all you want." He just stared at her.

"That could happen?" He whispered, incredulous. She was busy checking the computer and then checking the I.V. pump.

"It could. You had a serious abscess Brent. Your throat is messed up!" She reached for him arm to feel his pulse. He was warm now but not like earlier today and yesterday. When she was done she dropped his arm but he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Yes?" She said looking at him.

"Thank you." He said. He stared into her eyes, deep pools of blue water. "You've been more than kind to me." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"Just doing my job." She said lightly. He shook his head.

"No, you are a very caring person and I appreciate it." She blushed and looked down. He wondered to himself if she cared about all her patients like this or if she, maybe, liked him a little more. He wouldn't ask. He didn't want to really know.

"Let me get your blood pressure taken so I can record my findings here." She said wrapping the blood pressure cuff around his arm. He watched her. It seemed that she touched him an awful lot. Her touch was electric to him. He wanted to know what it would feel like to have her hands roaming over his entire body. He desired to feel her mouth against his, he wanted to touch her hair, to smell it. He could imagine sinking his teeth into her neck, feeling her pulse with his tongue ... She went to pull down the covers and pull up his gown and he grabbed her hands.

"Not now." He whispered, stopping her from seeing his excitement. "Check my thumps later, okay?" She frowned at him but didn't ask why because she knew. She released her hands from the covers, made her notes and left the room. He lay back against his pillows and stuffed his arms behind his head. He sighed, closed his eyes and let his mind wander to places he would discover once he was better and out of this place. Those places included Andrea's bedroom and the soft, moist, wet spot between her legs. Oh, yes, he would have her! Roberta or no Roberta. Where the fuck was she anyway? She was always too busy for him lately. She was hosting a new talk show and she was rarely around. It didn't matter, he had Andrea to keep him occupied. He reached for the cup of water and took another sip. He smiled to himself. This sore throat stuff was bad news but some good would come of it ....